We're Not Funny

Is Texas the unfunniest place in America?

Well this isn't very funny. Researchers at the University of Colorado's Humor Research Lab analyzed the 50 biggest cities in the United States to determine where the funniest — and least funny — people live. Let's just say Texas wasn't in on the joke.

Though Austin ranked a very respectable No. 14 (we are, after all, the home to Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival), the rest of the big cities in Texas fell in the bottom half of the list. In fact, of the top 10 least funny cities, four are in Texas, including the No. 1 least funny city in America: Fort Worth. Also in the top 10 are San Antonio at No. 4, Arlington at No. 5 and El Paso at No. 10.

Researchers at Humor Research Lab (it's a real thing), created the Humor Algorithm (with the appropriate acronym "HA") to determine where the funny folks live. Over a nine-month period, analysts researched the 50 largest cities and analyzed factors like number of comedy clubs per square mile, visits by residents to humor websites, percentage of native-born comedians, the number of comedy radio stations and audience ratings from traveling comedians.

But it wasn't just numbers that determined where cities ranked, input from local residents was also included. “A city’s humor score isn’t just a measure of historic reputation or big-name productions,” said research associate Adrian Ward. “A city’s sense of humor is a living, breathing thing, created by everything from coffee shop conversations to Web videos shared between friends to the laughter that erupts at comedy clubs.”

So what is the No.1 funniest city in America? That would be Chicago. Rounding out the top three are Boston and Atlanta.

Also in the top ten: Washington, DC at No. 4; Portland, Oregon at No. 5; New York City at No. 6; Los Angeles at No. 7; Denver at No. 8; San Francisco at No. 9 and Seattle closes out the top cities at No. 10.

unspecified

put it on santa's amex

2 wealthy Austin suburbs top list of biggest holiday spenders in U.S.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Cedar Park, Round Rock, and Austin loooove to do up the holidays.

It looks like Santa Claus is going to be competing with residents in Cedar Park to see who brings the most lavish holiday gifts this year.

This festive Austin neighbor ranked No. 23 in WalletHub's annual report of U.S. cities with the biggest holiday budgets in 2024.

Residents in this well-to-do suburb are expected to spend $2,930 on their Christmas gifts this year. That's up $576 from the $2,354 they were ready to shell out in the 2023 ranking — and it bumped them up 21 spots from their previous ranking at No. 44.

The U.S. Census Bureau says that Cedar Park's estimated population of 77,516 had a median household income of $118,903 in 2023. No wonder they have the extra cash to spare.

Cedar Park consistently makes the list of the top U.S. cities with the biggest holiday spenders, and now Round Rock is also climbing up the list, landing at No. 39 this year, up significantly from its previous low ranking of No. 283 in 2023.

The average holiday budget in Round Rock skyrocketed from $1,148 last year to $2,538 this year in an eyewatering $1,390 increase. You gotta spend to stay on top.

The No. 1 city in the U.S. for biggest holiday spenders in 2024 is Newton, Massachusetts, a wealthy suburb right outside of Boston, where the median income measured in 2022 was $176,373. Slots 2 through 5 were all cities in California's Silicon Valley: Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Milpitas.

Meanwhile, Austin proper landed at No. 87 in 2024 with an average holiday budget of $1,905.

Each year, WalletHub calculates the maximum holiday budget for over 550 U.S. cities "to help consumers avoid post-holiday regret," the website says. The study factors in income, age of the population, and other financial indicators such as debt-to-income ratio, monthly-income-to monthly-expenses ratio, and savings-to-monthly-expenses ratio.

Whether an Austinite's holiday budget is under $200 or more than $1,000, it's better to prioritize remaining within that budget instead of racking up the credit card bill, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"There are plenty of ways to enjoy the holidays and show you care without spending much money, like hosting potlucks or giving handmade gifts," said Lupo.

Other Texas cities that made it into the top 100 are:

No. 7 – Flower Mound ($3,541)
No. 11 – Frisco ($3,412)
No. 13 – The Woodlands ($3,395)
No. 15 – Sugar Land ($3,214)
No. 18 – Allen ($3,070)
No. 25 – League City ($2,897)
No. 32 – Plano ($2,658)
No. 45 – North Richland Hills ($2,484)
No. 52 – McKinney ($2,386)
No. 60 – Pearland ($2,223)
No. 76 – Richardson ($1,980)
No. 81 – Carrollton ($1,932)
No. 92 – Lewisville ($1,848)

austin budgeting cedar park christmas holidays lavish holiday gifts rankings round rock shopping wallethub biggest holiday budgets